Flete (anciently Flete Damarell) in the parish of Holbeton in Devon is an historic manor. In 1810 it was called "one of the finest estates in the county of Devon". The present manor house known as Flete House was built in the 19th century incorporating some elements of an earlier Tudor house on the site.
Descent
Brictwold
Before the Norman Conquest of 1066 it was held by the Anglo-Saxon Brictwold.
d'Aumale
The Domesday Book of 1086 lists FLUTES as the 11th of the 17 Devonshire holdings of Robert of Aumale (fl. 1086), one of the Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief of King William the Conqueror, who held it in demesne. He was also known as d'Amarell, Damarell, etc., and his name was Latinised to de Albemarle, de Albamara, etc. Thus the manor became known as Flete Damarell.
It continued in the Aumale family, called by Risdon, Tristram (died 1640) "A fruitful family in former times", until late in the reign of King Edward III (1327–1377), thus for a period of about 290 years. Thirteen members of the family received the honour of knighthood
Holland
By 1420 the manor was in the hands of King Henry IV's nephew, John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter.
Chalons
In 1420 the manor was granted to Sir Robert Chalons and his wife and their male heirs. His wife Blanche, daughter of Sir Hugh Waterton, died in 1437 and Sir Robert in 1445. Their son Henry was already dead, so their heir was his son John, who died childless in 1447.
Holland
The grant to the Chalons family having expired, the manor therefore reverted to the heirs of John Holland, who also died in 1447.
Hill
Flete descended subsequently to the Hill family. The most prominent family of that name, descended from the judge Sir Robert Hill, a Justice of the Common Pleas in 1392, was seated at Shilston in the parish of Modbury (very close to Flete) from the reign of King Richard II (1377–1399) until the 17th century.
Prideaux
Flete descended subsequently to the Prideaux family. This prominent and widespread family, founded in the 11th century at Prideaux Castle near Fowey in Cornwall, had a branch seated at Orcharton, about 1 mile from Modbury (2 miles east of Flete), from the 14th century to 1590, when Sir Robert Prideaux sold Orcharton to Sir John Hele (died 1608), a serjeant-at-law, Recorder of Exeter (1592–1605) and a Member of Parliament for Exeter, who also purchased the manors of Yealmpton and Wembury, and whose effigy survives in Wembury Church. Sir John Hele's younger brother, Thomas Hele (died 1613) of Exeter, acquired Flete.
Hele
Thomas Hele (died 1613) According to Pole, Flete was a dwelling of Thomas Hele (died 1613) of Exeter, Sheriff of Devon in 1600–1. He was the third son of Nicholas Hele of South Hele by his second wife Margaret Dune, daughter of Richard Dune of Holsworthy in Devon. Thomas Hele's mother survived her husband and remarried to Elizeus Warwick of Holbeton in Devon, in which parish Flete is situated. Thomas Hele married Julian Smith, a daughter of John Smith of Exeter. He had several brothers, the youngest being Sir John Hele (died 1608), a serjeant-at-law, Recorder of Exeter (1592–1605) and a Member of Parliament for Exeter, who purchased several manors including Yealmpton, Wembury, and Orcharton near Modbury, and whose effigy survives in Wembury Church.
Thomas Hele (1568–1624) Thomas Hele (died 1613) was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, Thomas Hele (1568–1624) of Flete who married Bridget Champernowne, a daughter of Sir Henry Champernowne (1538–1570), lord of the manor of Modbury in Devon. He was Sheriff of Devon in 1618.
Sir Thomas Hele, 1st Baronet (–1670) Sir Thomas Hele, 1st Baronet (–1670), created a baronet in 1627, a Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle and for Okehampton.
Sir Samuel Hele, 2nd Baronet (died 1672) Sir Samuel Hele, 2nd Baronet (died 1672), eldest surviving son and heir of the 1st Baronet by his second wife Elizabeth Elwes/Elways da. of Edward Elwes/Elways of London. His elder half-brother, who predeceased their father, was Thomas Hele (1630–1665) of Wigborow, Somerset, a Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle in Devon from 1661 to 1665. In 1668 Samuel married Mary Hungerford, a daughter of Anthony Hungerford of Hungerford Castle in Wiltshire, by whom he had one daughter and sole heiress, Jane Hele, the wife of Sir Arthur Shene, Baronet. As he died without male children the baronetcy devolved to his younger brother Henry.